Laowa’s Upcoming Macro Lens

credits: Weibo

Laowa appears to be working on a new macro lens. This in itself isn't particularly noteworthy, as there are currently 17 Laowa macro lenses. However, this latest lens is rather special thanks to it offering up to 10x magnification. For reference, a typical macro lens tops out at 1×, meaning the subject is reproduced at life size on the camera sensor. Even Laowa’s own lineup usually stops at 5×, so doubling that is a pretty big jump.

The new lens is said to deliver a working distance of about 40.35 mm in the 1–5× range, shrinking to around 22.5 mm when shooting between 5× and 10×. It is also expected to cover full-frame sensors and support multiple mounts. Early product images suggest it may ship with a native PL mount, with adapters for RF, Z, E, and L mounts, similar to how Laowa handles its more extreme macro systems.

Despite the high magnification, the lens apparently remains compact and lightweight, with an external length that doesn’t change when adjusting magnification. It is also reportedly parfocal, so focus shouldn’t shift as you move through the magnification range. Like many Laowa macro lenses, it uses an apochromatic optical design to keep chromatic aberrations under control, which is especially important at this scale. There is no word yet on pricing or availability, but given Laowa’s existing lineup, it will likely land somewhere between its 5× macro lens and its far more specialized 10–50× system.